Displaced residents will be paid compensation for land taken for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Project in line with norms practiced by the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), according to officials.

The move came after Deputy Minister Hset Aung of the National Planning and Economic Development held negotiations on July 30 with displaced villagers.

"We [local people] were in negotiation with the deputy minister as to the project. The deputy minister said that compensation would be paid to local people in line with the norms practiced by the WB and the JICA. He would also negotiate with the local people over the estimation of the compensation," said Mya Hlaing, a local from Alyansut village.
In response to the questions by local residents, the deputy minister said he would discuss questions of compensation until an agreement is reached. The minister did not provide details about the relocation of the villages being displaced by the project, but he said that enough compensation would be paid to the local people.

Alyansut, Thilawa, Phalan, Tatyagon, Thidamyaing and Phayagone villages were forced to move because they are included in the Thilawa SEZ project. The displaced villagers from these six villages submitted letters to President Thein Sein and the JICA in February to settle the problem in a fair way.

The Thilawa SEZ project is 51 percent owned by Myanmar and 49 percent by Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In implementing the zone project, Myanmar will have to provide funds for the requirements such as electricity, and roads and bridges to be facilitated outside the zone project. If Myanmar does not have sufficient finance, Japan will borrow the required finance at the interest rate of 0.01 percent for 40 years.